How to check your filament diameter

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This is a technique that I have been meaning to use for sometime but finally implemented it yesterday following two jams in quick succession. It is not for getting a measurement to put into you slicing software, it is for very quickly finding bulges in the filament reel that will clog your feed/extruder mechanism.

I bought a pack of 3mm internal diameter bearings. With my quite expensive Vernier gauge they measure 2.89 ID, so I am very confident that the ID will not exceed 3mm.

Just drop the bearing onto the filament end and let is slide all the way along the filament - in which case no bulges:)

It is easy to feed through but I have found it a bit messy to get the bearing off again. So I am going to get some more and just leave them on the filament reel.

You need to make sure that the external diameter is such that if the bearing does get stuck on the filament it is not pulled up into the drive mechanism. My printer has a length of Bowden tubing preceding the drive mechanism so I have made sure the bearing is too large to pulled into the tubing.

Had I done it earlier I would have prevented the problem yesterday with my Faberdashery filament - 1st time ever for me that I have had this problem with their filament.

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As long as you catch the bulge before it rides up against the extruder, you can cut the filament and remove the bulge, then reinsert 2nd piece of filament from roll behind the cut as it enters the extruder. I have done this a couple times without any problems using pla.

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This is a technique that I have been meaning to use for sometime but finally implemented it yesterday following two jams in quick succession. It is not for getting a measurement to put into you slicing software, it is for very quickly finding bulges in the filament reel that will clog your feed/extruder mechanism.

I bought a pack of 3mm internal diameter bearings. With my quite expensive Vernier gauge they measure 2.89 ID, so I am very confident that the ID will not exceed 3mm.

Just drop the bearing onto the filament end and let is slide all the way along the filament - in which case no bulges:)

It is easy to feed through but I have found it a bit messy to get the bearing off again. So I am going to get some more and just leave them on the filament reel.

You need to make sure that the external diameter is such that if the bearing does get stuck on the filament it is not pulled up into the drive mechanism. My printer has a length of Bowden tubing preceding the drive mechanism so I have made sure the bearing is too large to pulled into the tubing.

Had I done it earlier I would have prevented the problem yesterday with my Faberdashery filament - 1st time ever for me that I have had this problem with their filament.

I only meant that if you use your method with the 3mm opening of the bearing, you might notice it before it enters/gets stuck in the extruder.

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